Chicken-Fried Bacon
Twilight Exit
2051 E Madison St, 324-7462
Seattle
The recipe is simplestrips of bacon are coated with breading, then deep-fried until nicely goldenbut the results are thrilling. When they emerge from the fryer's depths, the Twilight Exit's chicken-fried bacon strips (five for $5) are swollen and bubbly and generally not very pretty. This charmingly deformed treat is served alongside a bowl of dipping gravy on a plain white plate, inviting those overcome by food lust to generously soak each bite, while the more inhibited may skim their bacon over the pooled gravy, dotting each piece with delicate, creamy pearls. Unlike deep-fried onion rings, the bacon fuses perfectly to its shell, rendering each bite crisp and fulfilling. Deep-fried bacon is fantasy fare: As with all seedy pleasures, it should be devoured without guilt. MARTI JONJAK